[Mark Up]

The 820 is reminding me a lot of the Denon D7100.

In what way, just wondering. I recall the D7100 very different. Heavier weight. Mid scooped, far more treble and bass. They were the definition of V shaped.

 

[dan.gheorghe]

The general impression of all the professional reviewers and Axel himself is that the 800S is still the better headphone

I also know most of the impressions, this is why HD820 was a surprise for me. Personally, I prefer them to both HD800S and HD800. Actually, while I do like HD800S, I expected more from them. They do fix some of the treble peak issues and bass, but not enough for HD800S to become a genre master. HD800S is a good alternative for the HD800, but I would totally get why some people would still prefer HD800 over them.

What I love about HD820 is that is has a more natural tonality, with a sexier/more present midrange, better bass presence and no treble peak. While HD800 and HD800S have more detail and a bigger soundstage, HD820 is still very good in both departments.

In time, I got to appreciate the qualities mentioned above for HD820 more, but that is just me.

 

[MacedonianHero]

I see the response as effort put into changing what people have qualms about HD800 (the relatively low bass and the lower treble peak).

Seems like they really over did it based on that graph.

 

[prescient]

If that graph is correct these things measure terribly....

 

[PointyFox]

I have a suggestion. Since it's a closed headphone, they should at least get the quanity and quality of the bass as best as possible.

There are cupped/closed headphones with fun low-end with good rumble without intruding to the mids.

Let's face it, Sennheiser open headphones cannot touch the type of cupped low-bass.

Good feeling of oneness with cup bass.

 

[765227258]

can't wait to see the real one!

 

[Beagle]

It's when you get the fit just right, the upper bass (and part of the midbass) is overpresent and out of balance with the lower midrange. The mid and top are pretty clear on both, the 820 obviously much more refined and balanced. But the character has a similarity..

 

[8bitme]

Beagle I just want to mention that personally I'm not experiencing any problems at all with getting my HD 820 to sit right on my head. I've noticed as well though that by simply opening my mouth the bass completely changes until I close it again so I understand your frustration.

 

[melons]

I've noticed as well though that by simply opening my mouth the bass completely changes until I close it again so I understand your frustration.

Believe that happens with all headphones, IEM & OE

 

[Beagle]

Beagle I just want to mention that personally I'm not experiencing any problems at all with getting my HD 820 to sit right on my head. I've noticed as well though that by simply opening my mouth the bass completely changes until I close it again so I understand your frustration.

Heck, I breathe and the bass changes. $2400 headphone and 2 cent pads.

If I tighten the fit so the ears just slip inside the bottom of the pads, I get a relatively even seal but the bass is the blob in the graph. Cannot win.

 

[syke]

No matter how good it sounds, if it doesn't fit, it is no better than $20 Walmart headphone.

That's my only gripe with the HD820, the open headphone design does not work for a closed headphone.

 

[Beagle]

If they could make a breathable set of pads, it might fix the fit inconsistency and the bass hump.

 

[8bitme]

I finally got a chance to A-B my 820 headphones against some other top of the class headphones. Namely the Susvara, LCD-4, Utopia and 800s. First of all I do now hear a slight problem with some male vocals in the 820 if you compare them directly with top of the class open designs in a A-B. For me this is a minor issue but I can understand it would put some people off. I won't go into detail too much what I thought about each headphone but for me both the Susvara and LCD-4 are amazing and I'd put them on a level above the 800s/820. I was however very disappointed by the Utopia that for me didn't really live up to the hype at all. I spent about 30minutes on it and for me both the 820 and the 800s is a more interesting listening experience. But each to their own. When it instead comes to comparing the 820 with 800s directly I found that they are quite different in some ways. Electronic music I found is often quite boring and fatiguing on the 800s while it works much better on the 820. Pop music really depended on the song which I preferred but both did well while classical music edged it for me on the 800s as I preferred the open design for strings etc. It was really interesting too get the experience of both headphones to be fair and optimally I'd like to own them both but I have to say the 820 really held up on it's own against every other headphone. Although not without flaws it's still is a fantastic closed back headphone for me.

I do dislike however to see that frequency response bump that was linked here before as I haven't really had time to reference my headphones properly and that could be an issue for me when mixing bass. I will have to follow up on that one.

That's my only gripe with the HD820, the open headphone design does not work for a closed headphone.

Again I don't have these issues so I love the design for me but if you can't get a proper fit this would certainly be a terrible choice for a headphone to buy for you.

 

[329161]

FYI.....

 

[Rchandra]

I'm gonna see if I can mod my hd800S close it out a bit with some 3d printed molds and if it sounds the same then good God.. Realistically the hd800S things take a step back and with the hd820 music takes a step forward so let the modding begin (I don't recommend doing this for warranty purposes)